First of all, I want to create my own digital marketing agency, mainly to work with small business. So, digital marketing agency… study digital marketing – No brainer right? But how and why did I get to the point of knowing this?

I’ve always been in sales. Since my first job in the deli of a supermarket when I was 15 years old. I didn’t know it them but sales and marketing were already having an influence on me. How we displayed the deli goods to make them look inviting and appetizing. Informing shoppers of new or on sale items even when they didn’t ask about them. From there I moved on to retail work, as a store manager. This introduced me to being involved in some advertising decisions and directions.

The idea of the buying cycle and advertisings influence on this cycle interested me. To a point where I went out and put myself through marketing courses so I could understand it better. But my full fascination with the psychology of it didn’t come about until years later when I became a sales rep for a radio station, selling advertising to small to medium business. Here I was working with some very experienced and intelligent sales people. Here I learnt more about the psychological side of advertising and consumerism than ever. The brain truly is an amazing thing.

They way we operate as humans has evolved exponentially in the last 15 years. The way we interact with each other and with business has completely changed. It looks nothin g like it did 15 years ago. Regardless of how you feel or think about this, it’s not slowing down and it is here to stay. As businesses, salespeople and marketers we can accept that and embrace it, or get left behind.

My fascination and curiosity with the brain has continued with the growth of the digital world. How do we now digest information and content? We are busier than ever, work longer hours, fit more into our days, yet somehow, we ingest more information than ever. Social media, podcasts, email, subliminal advertising in movies and tv shows. With the majority of it not even registering with us on a conscious level.

Those sneaky advertisers have figured out ways to tap into our subconscious to deliver their messages and it is more powerful than ever. Here’s one example;

You’re driving home from work and you notice a big bright billboard. It’s just a billboard, you have no connection to it at all. But now let’s take a look at Facebook advertising as an example. Our Facebook feeds are full of information posted and shared by people we know, people with whom we have certain levels of trust. We spend hours and hours every week scrolling through our feed to see what funny video someone shared, what our friends are up to or what we have been tagged in. In amongst all these posts and shares are advertisements that we hardly even notice, but these advertisements are tailored to us as individuals. Based on our search activity, text and email conversations and even verbal conversations.

The billboard on the side of the road doesn’t change based on who is about to drive past and their latest google search for office furniture. Not only does the relevance make the advertisements more effective but our level of unconscious scrolling through our feed also plays a part. Because we mostly take these ads in on a subconscious level, we can’t exactly remember where we saw or heard about that product or service, but because we saw it in amongst information that has been shared by people we know and trust, our brain can connect the dots to make us believe someone we know told us about it. Then when the time comes that we are back in the information gathering phase of the buying cycle we can recall a certain number of places where we can get what we need and we can think that information came from someone we know and trust to an extent.

We all know a direct recommendation from someone we know or trust on a product or service is more powerful than any other form of advertising. This is just one example of how this medium can work and influence our decisions. With the continued growth and advancements made in technology, who knows where we will be in just a few years’ time. It’s fascinating

The growth and accessibility of digital marketing has helped level the field in the world of marketing. Back in the day of traditional media (Radio, TV, Newspaper) and small, owner operator business could rarely afford to play in these spaces. They were simply too expensive. Now we can advertise in the digital space, to a very specific audience tailored to our ideal customer profiles for the price of a cup of coffee.

Having seen marketing work pre-digital and post digital the opportunity for small owner operator businesses to grow their business in a very quick, cost effective manner is now bigger than ever.

This is why I am studying digital marketing. To be able to help small business harness the power of Digital Marketing.